Pages

18 September 2012

The Genes of Aging and Carbohydrates

U.S. geneticist, Professor Cynthia Kenyon discovered that a high-carbohydrate diet "directly affect two key genes that govern youthfulness and longevity". These two genes are insulin related, so related to the amount of carbohydrate in our diet.

Kenyon discovered that when she removed these two insulin-receptor genes (daf-2 and daf-16) in worms, they not only lived longer, but showed more energy and youthful behavior, so the aging process actually slows down. Researchers repeated this experiment in different animals, they also concluded that the lower the insulin levels, the more protection these animals got from cancer and heart disease.

Researchers already know that abnormal insulin activity in humans is linked to higher disease rates, especially “diseases of civilization” such as heart disease, hypertension, type 2 diabetes and cancer. These diseases are associated with diets rich in refined carbohydrates.

What is interesting is that when Kenyon discovered that aging is in a close relationship with insulin, she herself changed to a low-carbohydrate diet.

The problem is that now drug companies will jump on the opportunity and experiment on drugs that block these two genes in humans. The solution should be much simpler: to reduce sugar and carbohydrate from our diet.